I bought a backaxe at a folk alliance conference a couple years back. It works well, though I noticed that walking a long distance with it put strain on my back between the shoulder blades. It is, for the most part balanced. What I don't like about it is wrapping it around the guitar and figuring out all the straps, without tangling them. Plus you have to take it off the case when you play and put it back together when it's time to go. It is a great idea, though.